O'Malley triumphs — at raising taxes [Letter]

I got a big kick out of reading the fawning testimonial for Gov. Martin O'Malley written by Sen. Jim Rosapepe ("O'Malley's record is strong," Jan. 23). It was almost like our dear governor wrote it himself because it was so much like the State of the State speech Governor O'Malley delivered in Annapolis the same day. And talk about praise. Senator Rosapepe states we are No. 1 in this, No. 1 in that, best in the nation in something else and on and on. But my favorite line was how Governor O' Malley has "managed the state through the tough times and cleaned up the fiscal mess he inherited from the previous administration." Really? Are you serious? Is he still blaming Bob Ehrlich?

Let's look at the real facts. In the seven years of this administration, the state's budget has increased over $9 billion, yet our governor insists he's cut spending. Huh? Of course, it's easy to spend money like a drunken sailor on shore leave when you have raised every tax and fee that ever existed in the state, and since that apparently wasn't enough, he even created some new ones like the "Rain Tax." I think we might be No. 1in the nation on raising and creating taxes, but don't worry, dear citizens, at least we're not taxed on the air that we breathe — at least not yet.